"When Stan Wawrinka's on, he's the one guy I've ever seen that can overpower Novak Djokovic in baseline rallies" - Jimmy Arias
Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka have had one of the most interesting rivalries on the tour in recent years. While Djokovic has accounted for the Swiss 20 times in their 26 clashes, he has fallen to the latter in four Slam meetings, including two finals (2015 French Open and 2016 US Open).
During a recent conversation on the Tennis Channel, former World No. 5 Jimmy Arias was asked to name the top three one-handed players on tour, excluding Roger Federer, who has not been in action for almost a year.
Picking Stan Wawrinka first, the American pointed out how, according to him, the Swiss is the only player to dominate Djokovic from the baseline on both wings.
"I went with Stan as well because of the 3 Majors and the fact that he absolutely crushes that backhand with incredible pace," Jimmy Arias said, adding, "When he's on, he's the one guy I've ever seen that can overpower Novak Djokovic in baseline rallies. With forehand, backhand Djokovic has nothing that he can do when Stan was on in those finals."
After picking Dominic Thiem as his second name, the 57-year-old went with Richard Gasquet as his third choice. He, however, highlighted that the Frenchman's superior one-handed return of serve should place him above Wawrinka and Thiem. Arias also called Roger Federer's one-handed return the best among the lot.
"Dominic Thiem again, huge backhand from anywhere," he stated.
"Richard Gasquet, I almost feel as if I should put him at one because his return. Those two guys, Stan and Thiem, get behind on the points with their return of serve. Gasquet's is a little bit better, he's not as behind in points off his backhand return, which is why we're going back we can't say Federer. I actually like Federer's the best because he's the one returner with one hand that stays at least neutral. It's incredible in a lot of ways," Arias said.
"Stan Wawrinka has the best one-handed backhand down the line ever in the history of the game" - Tracy Austin
Two-time singles Grand Slam champion and former World No. 1 Tracy Austin also picked her top three one-handed players on the ATP tour. Choosing Stan Wawrinka as her first name, she added that the Swiss possesses the greatest down-the-line backhand in tennis history.
"I was so indecisive about this that I changed this about 72 times," Tracy Austin said. "I'm going with Wawrinka and I know he's not in the top 100 but when you win 3 Majors and mostly because of your backhand - I think he has the best one-handed backhand down the line ever in the history of the game. I'm going with him."
Austin also named Dominic Thiem, heaping praise on the Austrian's power and variation, before picking Lorenzo Musetti to wrap off her list.
"I'm going with Dominic Thiem. When he's at his best - not at the moment but he's getting there - he can hit the ball on the rise," she continued. "He's like a bull, he can hit the ball with a slice, he can mix it up variation and then I'm going with Musetti, the young guy and I think he's about 20 years old. He can hit the cover off the ball."